Random thoughts while multitasking my way through life

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Monthly Archives: July 2013

Our summer vacation is coming up and we’ve decided to finally do the relaxing beach vacation that we’ve been talking about for all of these years. Our hotel is within walking distance to the beach and we are ready to spend several days enjoying the sand, surf and the much cooler weather.

You can’t plan to relax on the beach without a good book or two, or three. I figured I would throw a few paperbacks from my TBR pile into my beach bag and I’d been talking to Boo about what she would like to bring to read. In the meantime, Sully has been singing the praises of his Kindle. It’s a second generation Kindle that Sully’s mom actually gave Boo when she got a newer model. Boo wasn’t using it so Sully borrowed it to take to work. It’s been a few months and Sully has really enjoyed using it. Boo was looking at different books, she reads several series, and then found out that John Barrowman from Dr. Who and Torchwood has written a young adult book with his sister, Carole Barrowman. At the time, Hollow Earth was only available in hard cover which to my mind is not the most beach friendly format. It recently came out in paperback but a second book, Bone Quill, just came out in hardcover. Boo talked to Sully’s mom who is also a big John Barrowman fan, Gramma agreed that hardcover was not the best choice for the beach and suggested getting it for her Kindle. It’s the logical choice but I didn’t see Sully giving up his new toy anytime soon.

Later that day, Boo and I cornered Sully and he gave us nice walk through of the Kindle. I’ve been reading books through the Kindle app on my iPhone and iPad for years but I didn’t have much experience with the Kindle. Sully’s main selling point for the Kindle compared to the iPad is the fact that the Kindle is much easier to read in bright light. Clearly this is a major selling point when you are planning trip to the beach. After much discussion between the three of us it was decided that we would buy two more Kindles so that all three of us could read on the beach.

I looked at the current Kindle on Amazon and compared it to Sully’s Kindle 2, and I decided that I liked the Kindle 2 better. I took a couple of spins through eBay and as of Friday we are now a three Kindle household. I am quite happy with how things worked out, the price of the two Kindles averaged out to about $40 each. They both came with chargers, cables and cases*. I am amazed that we got two Kindles plus the extras for the price of a single new Kindle with an inexpensive case. All in all, it turned out to be a great idea. Thanks Gramma!

I’ve already read two novellas and I am several chapters into a new book. Boo is excited to read hers and to get the Hollow Earth books and Sully is glad that he gets to keep possession of his borrowed Kindle.

*It was a funny coincident that all three of us have the same black Amazon Kindle case. It’s a good solid case and I like how the Kindle clips in on the side.

… for us and our pets.

As many of us make plans for our family for the 4th of July. It’s important that we remember our furry family members as well. Holiday festivities like backyard parties and fireworks can overwhelm and frighten pets. There are some easy steps that can be taken to assure that everyone has a fun and safe holiday.

To those of us that own pets already, most of this is common sense sort of stuff. It’s good to remind people that don’t have pets or that are just starting out with pets the simple precautions we can take to keep everyone safe.

Holiday Prep

1. Check to make sure your pet’s tags are up to date and fastened securely to their collar. Check collar for proper fit while you are there.

2. Take a new pic of your pet.

3. Before the parties start play with your pet to tire them out. The expended energy will help to calm them and a cat nap is always good.

Party Time

1. Space – Having a house full of people can cause stress for some cats and dogs. If you have a pet that gets overwhelmed by strangers it’s a good idea to let them have their own space. Post a sign on the door so your guests know that the door is closed to keep your pet safe and sound.

3. Grill – Accidents can happen easily, make sure to play with pets away from the grill.

Fireworks

1. Keep your pets inside during fireworks. The loud noises and flashes of light scare most animals. They don’t understand what is happening and can hurt themselves trying to get away.

*** More pets get lost on July 4th than on any other day of the year.***

2. If your pet is very sensitive to the noise from the fireworks you can leave the television on or play music to help cover the sounds from outside.

3. If you are driving the night of July 4th keep an eye our for our furry friends. Pets and wildlife alike will be frightened by the fireworks and may dart onto streets and roads trying to flee.

Weather

I live in Arizona and last weekend the high temperature averaged out to be 118 degrees. We spent the weekend either inside or in the pool. Our dog spent the weekend the same way. In fact, most of the time that we were in the pool he was inside snoozing on the cool tile floor.

We keep a close on eye on our pets and the temperature, even with his doggie pool I make sure he is inside during the hottest parts of the day. All animals can get overheated, this can lead to heat exhaustion and more seriously heatstroke, which can be fatal without proper medical care.

Arizona is also home to monsoon storms in the summer. Powerful dust storms blow through the valley often followed by thunderstorms. Ideally all pets should be inside during these storms. This isn’t always possible, as the storms often develop quickly and sometimes in late afternoon. Pets should be given adequate shelter to avoid the dust and any flying debris. This should also protect your pet during any subsequent rainstorms, the sounds and sudden flashing from thunder and lightning can cause the same anxiety as fireworks. Once our dog is inside he is fine, we have one cat that gets a little skitterish with thunder but the other cats, the rabbits and the hamster don’t seem to notice at all.